HYDERABAD, Feb 3: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, has allowed an appeal of the Sindh government, challenging the order of the senior civil judge, Badin, Sagheer Ahmed Sheikh, after the case remained pending before the civil and high courts since 1974.

The senior civil judge had directed the Sindh government to pay more than Rs7 million apart from interest till the recovery of amount to a construction firm, M/S Badin Construction.

The matter, which pertained to a contract of construction of road from Lowari Sharif to Nindo Shahar, was earlier decided in favour of the construction company by way of an order, passed in the suit, filed by the company before the senior civil judge, Badin. The order for the contract was passed on May 31, 1975.

According to the terms of contract, the road roller and the bitumen were to be provided by the appellants (Sindh Government) to the respondent construction company in consideration of receiving from the latter Rs2,000 per month as hire charges for the road roller and Rs943 per tons as price for the Bitumen. The work was to be completed before June 6, 1975. The completion date which was extended up to Feb 28, 1977, as the company could not complete the work in time.

In the plaint the respondent company had claimed that non- completion of the work in time was due to revision of work by the appellants, non-availability of funds, non-supply of bitumen despite repeated requests, removal of road roller by the appellants and other lapses.

Out of the total amount of contract, Rs3.6 million were paid to the construction company. In the wake of civil suit, the trial court had directed the Sindh government to pay more than three million rupees, with interest till the recovery of the dues.

The Sindh government had challenged the order before the Sindh High Court through first appeal no 2/1982.

Justice Mukhtar Ahmed Junejo of the SHC heard the matter at principal seat and held the findings of the trial court, asking to make payment to construction company in different heads i.e. entitlement, refund, and material.

Insofar as the question of payment of interest was concerned the judge observed that the trial court may determine the same in the light of observations given in preceding para of this judgment about admissibility of such claim.

The judge asked the trial court to consider the case laws and arguments of both the parties before deciding this question. With such findings the matter was again referred to the court of senior civil judge.

After re-trial of the matter, the senior civil judge, Sagheer Ahmed Shaikh, directed the Sindh government to pay Rs248,215, apart from 10 per cent interest on the principal which came to Rs4.7 million.

The suit was again decided in December 1995.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Sindh government filed a second appeal before the Sindh High Court in 1996.

The Additional AG Sindh, Masood A. Noorani, representing the Sindh government, argued before the court that the trial court had erred in holding that an amount of about costs of extra lead for issue of chilly stone was payable by the government. Similarly the court had also erred in deciding that compensation for escalation in rates at Rs5,80,288. He pointed out that the respondents were not entitled to escalation of rates under the government policy nor the contract provided any escalation of rates to be paid to them. He maintained that the court had also failed to appreciate that the work of the contractor was substandard and no adjustment of such work had been granted in favour of appellants.

Jhamatmal Jethanand, advocate, represented the respondent construction company.